Some of the most peculiar traits of socio-technical systems (STS) in knowledge-intensive environments (KIE) – such as unpredictability of agents’ behaviour, ever-growing amount of information to manage, fast-paced production/consumption – tangle coordination of agents as well as coordination of information, by affecting, e.g., reachability by knowledge prosumers and manageability by the IT infrastructure. In this seminar we describe a novel approach to coordination of STS in KIE, grounded on the MoK (Molecules of Knowledge) model for knowledge self-organisation, and inspired to key concepts from the cognitive theory of BIC (behavioural implicit communication).
From Coordination to Semantic Self-Organisation: A Perspective on the Enginee...Andrea Omicini
After briefly recapitulating the classical lines of the literature on coordination models, we discuss the new lines of research that aim at addressing the coordination of complex systems, then focus on mechanisms and patterns of coordination for self-organising systems. The notions of semantic coordination and self-organising coordination are defined and shortly discussed, then a vision of SOSC (self-organising semantic coordination) is presented, along with some insights over available technologies and possible scenarios for SOSC.
[Lecture at the PhD Mini-school, 11th National Workshop "From Objects to Agents" (WOA 2010) — 05/09/2010, Bologna, Italy.
Coordination for Situated MAS: Towards an Event-driven ArchitectureAndrea Omicini
Complex software systems modelled as multi-agent systems (MAS) are characterised by activities that are generated either by agents, or by the environment in its most general acceptation — that is, environmental resources and the spatio-temporal fabric. Modelling and engineering complex MAS – such as pervasive, adaptive, and situated MAS – requires then to properly handle diverse classes of events: agent operations, resource events, spatio-temporal situation. In this talk we first devise out the requirements and sketch a software architecture for an agent middleware based on boundary artefacts such as agent coordination contexts, resource transducers, and space-time transducers. Then we discuss its system architecture exploiting agent, environment & space-time managers, and show some examples of a concrete architecture based on the TuCSoN middleware for MAS coordination.
The TuCSoN Coordination Model & Technology. A GuideAndrea Omicini
The slides provide an introduction to the TuCSoN coordination model, and a guide to the TuCSoN coordination technology for distributed systems.
[Guide v. 1.3.1 for TuCSoN v. 1.12.0.0301]
Game Engines to Model MAS: A Research RoadmapAndrea Omicini
Game engines are gaining increasing popularity in various computational research areas, and in particular in the context of Multi-Agent Systems (MAS)—for instance, to render augmented reality environments, improve immersive simulation infrastructures, and so on. Existing examples of successful integration between game engines and MAS still focus on specific technology-level goals, rather than on shaping a general-purpose game-based agent-oriented infrastructure. In this roadmap talk, we point out the conceptual issues to be faced to exploit game engines as agent-oriented infrastructures, and outline a possible research roadmap to follow, backed up by some early experiments involving the Unity3D engine.
Privacy through Anonymisation in Large-scale Socio-technical Systems: The BIS...Andrea Omicini
Large-scale socio-technical systems (STS) inextricably inter-connect individual – e.g., the right to privacy –, social – e.g., the effectiveness of organisational processes –, and technology issues —e.g., the software engineering process. As a result, the design of the complex software infrastructure involves also non-technological aspects such as the legal ones—so that, e.g., law-abidingness can be ensured since the early stages of the software engineering process. By focussing on contact centres (CC) as relevant examples of knowledge-intensive STS, we elaborate on the articulate aspects of anonymisation: there, individual and organisational needs clash, so that only an accurate balancing between legal and technical aspects could possibly ensure the system efficiency while preserving the individual right to privacy. We discuss first the overall legal framework, then the general theme of anonymisation in CC. Finally we overview the technical process developed in the context of the BISON project.
Project presentation @ DMI, Università di Catania, Italy, 25 July 2016
The impact of mobile technologies on healthcare is particularly evident in the case of self-management of chronic diseases, where they can decrease spending and improve the patient quality of life. In this talk we propose the adoption of agent-based modelling and simulation techniques as built-in tools to dynamically monitor patient health state and provide feedbacks for self-management. To demonstrate the feasibility of our proposal we focus on Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus as our case study, and provide some preliminary simulation results.
From Coordination to Semantic Self-Organisation: A Perspective on the Enginee...Andrea Omicini
After briefly recapitulating the classical lines of the literature on coordination models, we discuss the new lines of research that aim at addressing the coordination of complex systems, then focus on mechanisms and patterns of coordination for self-organising systems. The notions of semantic coordination and self-organising coordination are defined and shortly discussed, then a vision of SOSC (self-organising semantic coordination) is presented, along with some insights over available technologies and possible scenarios for SOSC.
[Lecture at the PhD Mini-school, 11th National Workshop "From Objects to Agents" (WOA 2010) — 05/09/2010, Bologna, Italy.
Coordination for Situated MAS: Towards an Event-driven ArchitectureAndrea Omicini
Complex software systems modelled as multi-agent systems (MAS) are characterised by activities that are generated either by agents, or by the environment in its most general acceptation — that is, environmental resources and the spatio-temporal fabric. Modelling and engineering complex MAS – such as pervasive, adaptive, and situated MAS – requires then to properly handle diverse classes of events: agent operations, resource events, spatio-temporal situation. In this talk we first devise out the requirements and sketch a software architecture for an agent middleware based on boundary artefacts such as agent coordination contexts, resource transducers, and space-time transducers. Then we discuss its system architecture exploiting agent, environment & space-time managers, and show some examples of a concrete architecture based on the TuCSoN middleware for MAS coordination.
The TuCSoN Coordination Model & Technology. A GuideAndrea Omicini
The slides provide an introduction to the TuCSoN coordination model, and a guide to the TuCSoN coordination technology for distributed systems.
[Guide v. 1.3.1 for TuCSoN v. 1.12.0.0301]
Game Engines to Model MAS: A Research RoadmapAndrea Omicini
Game engines are gaining increasing popularity in various computational research areas, and in particular in the context of Multi-Agent Systems (MAS)—for instance, to render augmented reality environments, improve immersive simulation infrastructures, and so on. Existing examples of successful integration between game engines and MAS still focus on specific technology-level goals, rather than on shaping a general-purpose game-based agent-oriented infrastructure. In this roadmap talk, we point out the conceptual issues to be faced to exploit game engines as agent-oriented infrastructures, and outline a possible research roadmap to follow, backed up by some early experiments involving the Unity3D engine.
Privacy through Anonymisation in Large-scale Socio-technical Systems: The BIS...Andrea Omicini
Large-scale socio-technical systems (STS) inextricably inter-connect individual – e.g., the right to privacy –, social – e.g., the effectiveness of organisational processes –, and technology issues —e.g., the software engineering process. As a result, the design of the complex software infrastructure involves also non-technological aspects such as the legal ones—so that, e.g., law-abidingness can be ensured since the early stages of the software engineering process. By focussing on contact centres (CC) as relevant examples of knowledge-intensive STS, we elaborate on the articulate aspects of anonymisation: there, individual and organisational needs clash, so that only an accurate balancing between legal and technical aspects could possibly ensure the system efficiency while preserving the individual right to privacy. We discuss first the overall legal framework, then the general theme of anonymisation in CC. Finally we overview the technical process developed in the context of the BISON project.
Project presentation @ DMI, Università di Catania, Italy, 25 July 2016
The impact of mobile technologies on healthcare is particularly evident in the case of self-management of chronic diseases, where they can decrease spending and improve the patient quality of life. In this talk we propose the adoption of agent-based modelling and simulation techniques as built-in tools to dynamically monitor patient health state and provide feedbacks for self-management. To demonstrate the feasibility of our proposal we focus on Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus as our case study, and provide some preliminary simulation results.
Anticipatory Coordination in Socio-technical Knowledge-intensive Environments...Andrea Omicini
ome of the most peculiar traits of socio-technical KIE (knowledge-intensive environments) -- such as unpredictability of agents' behaviour, ever-growing amount of information to manage, fast-paced production/consumption -- tangle coordination of information, by affecting, e.g., reachability by knowledge prosumers and manageability by the IT infrastructure.
Here, we propose a novel approach to coordination in KIE, by extending the MoK model for knowledge self-organisation with key concepts from the cognitive theory of BIC (behavioural implicit communication).
The Distributed Autonomy. Software Abstractions and Technologies for Autonomo...Andrea Omicini
In this short talk, we elaborate on the software issues of autonomous systems, by focussing on their interpretation as multi-agent systems. We suggest that a notion of distributed autonomy needs to be investigated – in particular in the area of (L)AWS – for its potential implications in terms of uncertainty of responsibility and liability.
Coordination Issues in Complex Socio-technical Systems: Self-organisation of ...Stefano Mariani
The thesis proposes the Molecules of Knowledge (MoK) model for self-organisation of knowledge in knowledge-intensive socio-technical systems.
The main contribution is the conception, definition, design, and implementation of the MoK model.
The model is based on a chemical metaphor for self-organising coordination, in which coordination laws are interpreted as artificial chemical reactions ruling evolution of the molecules of knowledge living in the system (the information chunks), indirectly coordinating the users working with them.
In turn, users may implicitly affect system behaviour with their interactions, according to the cognitive theory of behavioural implicit communication, integrated in MoK.
The theory states that any interaction conveys tacit messages that can be suitably interpreted by the coordination model to better support users' workflows.
Design and implementation of the MoK model required two other contributions: conception, design, and tuning of the artificial chemical reactions with custom kinetic rates, playing the role of the coordination laws, and development of an infrastructure supporting situated coordination, both in time, space, and w.r.t. the environment, along with a dedicated coordination language.
Keynote delivered at the 2013 Workshop on
Using Predictive Coding in E-Discovery (DESI V), about minimizing the cost of human review following an automated classification pass
Molecules of Knowledge: Self-Organisation in Knowledge-Intensive EnvironmentsStefano Mariani
Molecules of Knowledge (MoK) is a coordination model supporting self-organisation of knowledge in Knowledge Intensive Environments (KIE). Usual approaches to knowledge management in KIE consider data as a passive, "dead" entity and rely on "brute force" approaches assuming an ever-increasing computational power and storage capacity (e.g. big data). This won't scale forever, thus alternative approaches should be explored. MoK promotes the vision of data as a "live" thing, continuously and spontaneously interacting and evolving---self-organising. Accordingly, MoK relies on features such as locality, probability and situatedness to tackle KIE challenges such as scale, openness and unpredictability. In this seminar, the MoK model is motivated and introduced, then some early "evaluation" described.
Blending Event-Based and Multi-Agent Systems around Coordination AbstractionsAndrea Omicini
While event-based architectural style has become prevalent for large-scale distributed applications, multi-agent systems seemingly provide the most viable abstractions to deal with complex distributed systems. In this talk we discuss the role of coordination abstractions as a basic brick for a unifying conceptual framework for agent-based and event-based systems, which could work as the foundation of a principled discipline for the engineering of complex software systems.
[Talk by Stefano Mariani @ COORDINATION 2015, 3/6/3015, Grenoble, France]
OntoSOC: S ociocultural K nowledge O ntology IJwest
This paper
present
s
a
sociocultural knowledge ontology (OntoSOC) modeling appro
a
ch. Ont
o-
SOC modeling appro
a
ch is based on Engeström‟s
Human Activity Theory (HAT)
.
That Theory allowed us
to identify fundamental concepts and rel
a
tionshi
ps between them. The top
-
down precess has been used to
d
efine differents sub
-
concepts. The
modeled vocabulary permits us to organise data, to facilitate in
form
a-
tion retrieval
by introducing a semantic layer in social web platform architec
ture,
we project t
o impl
e
ment.
This platform can be considered as a «
collective me
mory
»
and Participative and Distributed Info
r
mation
System
(PDIS) which will allow Cameroonian communities to share an co
-
construct knowledge on perm
a-
nent organi
z
ed activ
i
ties.
MoK: Stigmergy Meets Chemistry to Exploit Social Actions for Coordination Pur...Stefano Mariani
This talk discusses the paper “MoK: Stigmergy Meets Chemistry to Exploit Social Actions for Coordination Purposes”, presented at SOCIAL:PATH @ AISB 2013.
Don't look at me that way! - Understanding User Attitudes Towards Data Glasse...EISLab
Data glasses do carry promising potential for hands-free interaction, but also raise various concerns amongst their potential users. In order to gain insights into the nature of those concerns, we investigate how potential usage scenarios are perceived by device users and their peers. We present results of a two-step approach: a focus group discussion with 7 participants, and a user study with 38 participants. In particular, we look into differences between the usage of data glasses and more established devices such as smart phones. We provide quantitative measures for scenario-related social acceptability and point out factors that can influence user attitudes. Based on our quantitative and qualitative results, we derive design implications that might support the development of head-worn devices and applications with an improved social acceptability.
Please cite this work as follows: M. Koelle, M. Kranz, A. Möller: Don't look at me that way! - Understanding User Attitudes Towards Data Glasses Usage. In: Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction with Mobile Devices and Services (MobileHCI '15), Copenhagen, Denmark, 2015
Complexity in computational systems: the coordination perspectiveAndrea Omicini
In this talk we discuss the role of coordination models and technologies in the engineering of complex computational systems.
Complex Systems Physics Meeting IMT-UNIBO
Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Bologna
Bologna, Italy, 15/02/2018
The presentation will be structured as follow. The talk will first provide an introduction to the theory behind the Socio-Cultural Ecology (Pachler, Bachmair and Cook, 2010) and the notion of User-generated contexts (Cook, Pachler and Bachmair, accepted), which Cook (2009) has refined into an analytical tool called a ‘typology-grid’ (see below). The talk will then demonstrate how the typology-grid has been successfully been used to analyse and learn from the ALPS and conclude by inviting a critique of the typology-grid.
Identifying ghost users using social media metadata - University College LondonGreg Kawere
You are your Metadata: Identification and Obfuscation of Social Media Users using Metadata Information a joint research project of the Alan Turing Institute and University College in London
Explainable Pervasive Intelligence with Self-explaining AgentsAndrea Omicini
Pervasiveness of ICT resources along with the promise of ubiquitous intelligence is pushing hard both our demand and our fears of AI: demand mandates for the ability to inject intelligence ubiquitously; fears compel the behaviour of intelligent systems to be observable, explainable, and accountable. Whereas the first wave of the new "AI Era" was mostly heralded by sub-symbolic approaches, features like explainability are better provided by symbolic techniques. In particular, the notion of explanation should be regarded as a core notion for intelligent systems, rather than just an add-on to make them understandable to humans. Based on symbolic AI techniques to match intuitive and rational cognition, explanation should then be regarded as a fundamental tool for inter-agent communication among heterogeneous intelligent agents in open multi-agent systems. More generally, self-explaining agents should work as the basic components in the engineering of intelligent systems integrating both symbolic and sub-/non-symbolic AI techniques.
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Anticipatory Coordination in Socio-technical Knowledge-intensive Environments...Andrea Omicini
ome of the most peculiar traits of socio-technical KIE (knowledge-intensive environments) -- such as unpredictability of agents' behaviour, ever-growing amount of information to manage, fast-paced production/consumption -- tangle coordination of information, by affecting, e.g., reachability by knowledge prosumers and manageability by the IT infrastructure.
Here, we propose a novel approach to coordination in KIE, by extending the MoK model for knowledge self-organisation with key concepts from the cognitive theory of BIC (behavioural implicit communication).
The Distributed Autonomy. Software Abstractions and Technologies for Autonomo...Andrea Omicini
In this short talk, we elaborate on the software issues of autonomous systems, by focussing on their interpretation as multi-agent systems. We suggest that a notion of distributed autonomy needs to be investigated – in particular in the area of (L)AWS – for its potential implications in terms of uncertainty of responsibility and liability.
Coordination Issues in Complex Socio-technical Systems: Self-organisation of ...Stefano Mariani
The thesis proposes the Molecules of Knowledge (MoK) model for self-organisation of knowledge in knowledge-intensive socio-technical systems.
The main contribution is the conception, definition, design, and implementation of the MoK model.
The model is based on a chemical metaphor for self-organising coordination, in which coordination laws are interpreted as artificial chemical reactions ruling evolution of the molecules of knowledge living in the system (the information chunks), indirectly coordinating the users working with them.
In turn, users may implicitly affect system behaviour with their interactions, according to the cognitive theory of behavioural implicit communication, integrated in MoK.
The theory states that any interaction conveys tacit messages that can be suitably interpreted by the coordination model to better support users' workflows.
Design and implementation of the MoK model required two other contributions: conception, design, and tuning of the artificial chemical reactions with custom kinetic rates, playing the role of the coordination laws, and development of an infrastructure supporting situated coordination, both in time, space, and w.r.t. the environment, along with a dedicated coordination language.
Keynote delivered at the 2013 Workshop on
Using Predictive Coding in E-Discovery (DESI V), about minimizing the cost of human review following an automated classification pass
Molecules of Knowledge: Self-Organisation in Knowledge-Intensive EnvironmentsStefano Mariani
Molecules of Knowledge (MoK) is a coordination model supporting self-organisation of knowledge in Knowledge Intensive Environments (KIE). Usual approaches to knowledge management in KIE consider data as a passive, "dead" entity and rely on "brute force" approaches assuming an ever-increasing computational power and storage capacity (e.g. big data). This won't scale forever, thus alternative approaches should be explored. MoK promotes the vision of data as a "live" thing, continuously and spontaneously interacting and evolving---self-organising. Accordingly, MoK relies on features such as locality, probability and situatedness to tackle KIE challenges such as scale, openness and unpredictability. In this seminar, the MoK model is motivated and introduced, then some early "evaluation" described.
Blending Event-Based and Multi-Agent Systems around Coordination AbstractionsAndrea Omicini
While event-based architectural style has become prevalent for large-scale distributed applications, multi-agent systems seemingly provide the most viable abstractions to deal with complex distributed systems. In this talk we discuss the role of coordination abstractions as a basic brick for a unifying conceptual framework for agent-based and event-based systems, which could work as the foundation of a principled discipline for the engineering of complex software systems.
[Talk by Stefano Mariani @ COORDINATION 2015, 3/6/3015, Grenoble, France]
OntoSOC: S ociocultural K nowledge O ntology IJwest
This paper
present
s
a
sociocultural knowledge ontology (OntoSOC) modeling appro
a
ch. Ont
o-
SOC modeling appro
a
ch is based on Engeström‟s
Human Activity Theory (HAT)
.
That Theory allowed us
to identify fundamental concepts and rel
a
tionshi
ps between them. The top
-
down precess has been used to
d
efine differents sub
-
concepts. The
modeled vocabulary permits us to organise data, to facilitate in
form
a-
tion retrieval
by introducing a semantic layer in social web platform architec
ture,
we project t
o impl
e
ment.
This platform can be considered as a «
collective me
mory
»
and Participative and Distributed Info
r
mation
System
(PDIS) which will allow Cameroonian communities to share an co
-
construct knowledge on perm
a-
nent organi
z
ed activ
i
ties.
MoK: Stigmergy Meets Chemistry to Exploit Social Actions for Coordination Pur...Stefano Mariani
This talk discusses the paper “MoK: Stigmergy Meets Chemistry to Exploit Social Actions for Coordination Purposes”, presented at SOCIAL:PATH @ AISB 2013.
Don't look at me that way! - Understanding User Attitudes Towards Data Glasse...EISLab
Data glasses do carry promising potential for hands-free interaction, but also raise various concerns amongst their potential users. In order to gain insights into the nature of those concerns, we investigate how potential usage scenarios are perceived by device users and their peers. We present results of a two-step approach: a focus group discussion with 7 participants, and a user study with 38 participants. In particular, we look into differences between the usage of data glasses and more established devices such as smart phones. We provide quantitative measures for scenario-related social acceptability and point out factors that can influence user attitudes. Based on our quantitative and qualitative results, we derive design implications that might support the development of head-worn devices and applications with an improved social acceptability.
Please cite this work as follows: M. Koelle, M. Kranz, A. Möller: Don't look at me that way! - Understanding User Attitudes Towards Data Glasses Usage. In: Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction with Mobile Devices and Services (MobileHCI '15), Copenhagen, Denmark, 2015
Complexity in computational systems: the coordination perspectiveAndrea Omicini
In this talk we discuss the role of coordination models and technologies in the engineering of complex computational systems.
Complex Systems Physics Meeting IMT-UNIBO
Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Bologna
Bologna, Italy, 15/02/2018
The presentation will be structured as follow. The talk will first provide an introduction to the theory behind the Socio-Cultural Ecology (Pachler, Bachmair and Cook, 2010) and the notion of User-generated contexts (Cook, Pachler and Bachmair, accepted), which Cook (2009) has refined into an analytical tool called a ‘typology-grid’ (see below). The talk will then demonstrate how the typology-grid has been successfully been used to analyse and learn from the ALPS and conclude by inviting a critique of the typology-grid.
Identifying ghost users using social media metadata - University College LondonGreg Kawere
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Similar to Self-organisation of Knowledge in Socio-technical Systems: A Coordination Perspective (20)
Explainable Pervasive Intelligence with Self-explaining AgentsAndrea Omicini
Pervasiveness of ICT resources along with the promise of ubiquitous intelligence is pushing hard both our demand and our fears of AI: demand mandates for the ability to inject intelligence ubiquitously; fears compel the behaviour of intelligent systems to be observable, explainable, and accountable. Whereas the first wave of the new "AI Era" was mostly heralded by sub-symbolic approaches, features like explainability are better provided by symbolic techniques. In particular, the notion of explanation should be regarded as a core notion for intelligent systems, rather than just an add-on to make them understandable to humans. Based on symbolic AI techniques to match intuitive and rational cognition, explanation should then be regarded as a fundamental tool for inter-agent communication among heterogeneous intelligent agents in open multi-agent systems. More generally, self-explaining agents should work as the basic components in the engineering of intelligent systems integrating both symbolic and sub-/non-symbolic AI techniques.
On the Integration of Symbolic and Sub-symbolic – Explaining by DesignAndrea Omicini
The more intelligent systems based on sub-symbolic techniques pervade our everyday lives, the less human can understand them. This is why symbolic approaches are getting more and more attention in the general effort to make AI interpretable, explainable, and trustable. Understanding the current state of the art of AI techniques integrating symbolic and sub-symbolic approaches is then of paramount importance, nowadays—in particular in the XAI perspective. In this talk we first provides an overview of the main symbolic/sub-symbolic integration techniques, focussing in particular on those targeting explainable AI systems. Then we expand the notion of “explainability by design” to the realm of multi-agent systems, where XAI techniques can play a key role in the engineering of intelligent systems.
Not just for humans: Explanation for agent-to-agent communicationAndrea Omicini
Once precisely defined so as to include just the explanation’s act, the notion of explanation should be regarded as a central notion in the engineering of intelligent system—not just as an add-on to make them understandable to humans. Based on symbolic AI techniques to match intuitive and rational cognition, explanation should be exploited as a fundamental tool for inter-agent communication among heterogeneous agents in open multi-agent systems. More generally, explanation-ready agents should work as the basic components in the engineering of intelligent systems integrating both symbolic and sub-/non-symbolic AI techniques.
Presented by Andrea Omicini @ AIxIA 2020 Discussion Paper Workshop
Blockchain for Intelligent Systems: Research PerspectivesAndrea Omicini
We summarise and compare features of MAS and BCT, and discuss how they could be fruitfully integrated in the engineering of intelligent systems by adopting a long-term research perspective.
Injecting (Micro)Intelligence in the IoT: Logic-based Approaches for (M)MASAndrea Omicini
Pervasiveness of ICT resources along with the promise of ubiquitous intelligence is pushing hard both our demand and our fears of AI: demand mandates for the ability to inject (micro) intelligence ubiquitously, fears compel the behaviour of intelligent systems to be observable, explainable, and accountable.
Whereas the first wave of the new "AI Era" was mostly heralded by non-symbolic approaches, features like explainability are better provided by symbolic techniques.
In this talk we focus on logic-based approaches, and discuss their potential in pervasive scenarios like the IoT and open (M)MAS along with our latest results in the field.
Andrea Omicini, Roberta Calegari
Invited Talk
MMAS 2018, Stockholm, Sweden, 14 July 2018
Nature-inspired Coordination: Current Status and Research TrendsAndrea Omicini
Tutorial @WI 2017, Leipzig, 23 August 2017
Andrea Omicini & Stefano Mariani, Lecturers
Originating from closed parallel systems, coordination models and technologies gained in expressive power so as to deal with complex distributed systems. In particular, nature-inspired models of coordination emerged in the last decade as the most effective approaches to tackle the complexity of pervasive, intelligent, and self-* systems.
In the first part of the tutorial we introduce the basic notions of coordination and coordination model, and relate them to the notions of interaction and complexity. Then, the most relevant nature-inspired coordination (NIC) models are discussed, along with their relationship with the many facets of tuple-based models. In the third part we discuss the main open issues and explore the trends for future development of NIC. Finally, as a case study, we focus on MoK (Molecules of Knowledge), a NIC model for knowledge self-organisation, where data and information autonomously aggregate and spread toward knowledge prosumers.
Novel Opportunities for Tuple-based Coordination: XPath, the Blockchain, and ...Andrea Omicini
The increasing maturity of some well-established technologies – such as XPath – along with the sharp rise of brand-new ones – i.e. the blockchain – presents new opportunities to researchers in the field of multi-agent coordination. In this talk we briefly discuss a few technologies which, once suitably interpreted and integrated, have the potential to impact the very roots of tuple-based coordination as it stems from the archetypal LINDA model.
Micro-intelligence for the IoT: Teaching the Old Logic Dog New Programming Tr...Andrea Omicini
New application scenarios for pervasive intelligent systems open novel perspectives for logic-based approaches, in particular when coupled with agent-based technologies and methods. In this explorative talk we provide some examples of how logic programming and its extensions can work as sources of micro-intelligence for the IoT, at both the individual and the collective level, along with an overall architectural view of IoT systems exploiting logic-based technologies.
Logic Programming as a Service (LPaaS): Intelligence for the IoTAndrea Omicini
Talk @ ICNSC 2017, Calabria, Italy, 16 May 2017
Abstract: The widespread diffusion of low-cost computing devices, such as Arduino boards and Raspberry Pi, along with improvements of Cloud computing platforms, are paving the way towards a whole new set of opportunities for Internet of Things (IoT) applications and services. Varying degrees of intelligence are often required for supporting adaptation and self-management—yet, they should be provided in a light-weight, easy to use and customise, highly-interoperable way. Accordingly, in this paper we explore the idea of Logic Programming as a Service (LPaaS) as a novel and promising re-interpretation of distributed logic programming in the IoT era. After introducing the reference context and motivating scenarios of LPaaS as a key enabling technology for intelligent IoT, we define the LPaaS general system architecture. Then, we present a prototype implementation built on top of the tuProlog system, which provides the required interoperability and customisation. We showcase the LPaaS potential through a case study designed as a simplification of the motivating scenarios.
Open distributed multi-agent systems featuring autonomous components demand coordination mechanisms for both functional and non-functional properties. Heterogeneity of requirements regarding interaction means and paradigms, stemming from the diverse nature of components, should not affect the effectiveness of coordination. Along this line, in this paper we share our pragmatical experience in the integration of objective and subjective, synchronous and asynchronous, reactive and pro-active coordination approaches within two widely-adopted agent-oriented technologies (JADE and Jason), enabling coordinating components to dynamically adapt their interaction means based on static preference or run-time contingencies.
Towards Logic Programming as a Service: Experiments in tuPrologAndrea Omicini
In this talk we explore the perspective of Logic Programming as a Service (LPaaS), with a broad notion of “service” going beyond the mere handling of the logic engine lifecycle, knowledge base management, reasoning queries execution, etc. In particular, we present tuProlog as-a-service, a Prolog engine based on the tuProlog core made available as an encapsulated service to effectively support the spreading of intelligence in pervasive systems—mainly, Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications scenarios. So, after recalling the main features of tuProlog technology, we discuss the design and implementation of tuProlog as-a-service, focussing in particular on the iOS platform because of the many supported smart devices (phones, watches, etc.), the URL-based communication support among apps, and the multi-language resulting scenarios.
The huge availability of geographical and spatial data, along with the impulse from ubiquitous and pervasive application scenarios, has pushed the boundaries of complex system engineering towards spatial computing. There, space (in any of the many possible acceptations of the term) represents at the same time the physical container of distributed pervasive applications, the source of a huge amount of data, information, and knowledge, and the target of both epistemic and practical actions.
Agents – as the basic abstraction for distributed computing –, rational agents – as the basic units for encapsulating intelligence –, and multi-agent systems (MAS) – as the social abstraction for collective behaviours – represent the most likely candidates for providing an original framework for spatial computing coherehtly covering conceptual, technical, and methodological issues.
In this survey tutorial we elaborate on the state-of-the art of spatial computing, and show how the classical ontological foundation for MAS (agents, societies, and environment) can coherently capture the essential aspects of spatial computing, also providing for original perspectives and research directions in the novel field of "Spatial MAS".
Introductory tutorial on the foundations of agents and multi-agent systems at the 18th European Agent Systems Summer School (EASSS 2016) – 25 July 2016, Catania, Italy
Academic Publishing in the Digital Era: A Couple of Issues (Open Access—Well,...Andrea Omicini
Open Access is the new frontier for academic publishing: however, some non-trivial issues are yet to be addressed.
Meeting “The (r)evolution of academic publication”
Istituti di Studi Avanzati (ISA), Università di Bologna, Italy, 10/05/2016
Event-Based vs. Multi-Agent Systems: Towards a Unified Conceptual FrameworkAndrea Omicini
Event-based systems (EBS) are nowadays the most viable sources of technologies and solutions for large-scale distributed applications. On the other hand, multi-agent systems (MAS) apparently provide the most viable abstractions and coherent methods to deal with complex distributed systems, in particular when advanced features – such as mobility, autonomy, symbolic reasoning, knowledge management, situation recognition – are required. In this talk we discuss how the core concepts of EBS and MAS can in principle be matched and integrated, providing a sound conceptual ground for a coherent discipline for the engineering of complex software systems.
[Keynote Speech @ IEEE CSCWD 2015, May 6, 2015, Calabria, Italy]
Stochastic Coordination in CAS: Expressiveness & PredictabilityAndrea Omicini
Recognising that (i) coordination is a fundamental concern when both analysing and modelling CAS, and that (ii) CAS often exhibit stochastic behaviours, stemming from probabilistic and time-dependent local (interaction) mechanisms, in this talk we argue that (a) measuring expressiveness of coordination languages, and (b) predicting behaviours of stochastic systems based on coordination models are two fundamental steps in the quest for designing well- engineered CAS.
As a concrete ground where to or discussion, we describe some of our current works as well as our ideas for further research.
[with Stefano Mariani @ Dagstuhl Seminar “CAS: Qualitative and Quantitative Modelling and Analysis”, December 14-19th, 2014
Course on "Nature-inspired Coordination Models for Complex Distributed Systems", Part II.
CUSO Seminar on Coordination Models, 20 - 21 November 2014, Fribourg, CH
Comparing Evolved Extractive Text Summary Scores of Bidirectional Encoder Rep...University of Maribor
Slides from:
11th International Conference on Electrical, Electronics and Computer Engineering (IcETRAN), Niš, 3-6 June 2024
Track: Artificial Intelligence
https://www.etran.rs/2024/en/home-english/
THE IMPORTANCE OF MARTIAN ATMOSPHERE SAMPLE RETURN.Sérgio Sacani
The return of a sample of near-surface atmosphere from Mars would facilitate answers to several first-order science questions surrounding the formation and evolution of the planet. One of the important aspects of terrestrial planet formation in general is the role that primary atmospheres played in influencing the chemistry and structure of the planets and their antecedents. Studies of the martian atmosphere can be used to investigate the role of a primary atmosphere in its history. Atmosphere samples would also inform our understanding of the near-surface chemistry of the planet, and ultimately the prospects for life. High-precision isotopic analyses of constituent gases are needed to address these questions, requiring that the analyses are made on returned samples rather than in situ.
Observation of Io’s Resurfacing via Plume Deposition Using Ground-based Adapt...Sérgio Sacani
Since volcanic activity was first discovered on Io from Voyager images in 1979, changes
on Io’s surface have been monitored from both spacecraft and ground-based telescopes.
Here, we present the highest spatial resolution images of Io ever obtained from a groundbased telescope. These images, acquired by the SHARK-VIS instrument on the Large
Binocular Telescope, show evidence of a major resurfacing event on Io’s trailing hemisphere. When compared to the most recent spacecraft images, the SHARK-VIS images
show that a plume deposit from a powerful eruption at Pillan Patera has covered part
of the long-lived Pele plume deposit. Although this type of resurfacing event may be common on Io, few have been detected due to the rarity of spacecraft visits and the previously low spatial resolution available from Earth-based telescopes. The SHARK-VIS instrument ushers in a new era of high resolution imaging of Io’s surface using adaptive
optics at visible wavelengths.
Nutraceutical market, scope and growth: Herbal drug technologyLokesh Patil
As consumer awareness of health and wellness rises, the nutraceutical market—which includes goods like functional meals, drinks, and dietary supplements that provide health advantages beyond basic nutrition—is growing significantly. As healthcare expenses rise, the population ages, and people want natural and preventative health solutions more and more, this industry is increasing quickly. Further driving market expansion are product formulation innovations and the use of cutting-edge technology for customized nutrition. With its worldwide reach, the nutraceutical industry is expected to keep growing and provide significant chances for research and investment in a number of categories, including vitamins, minerals, probiotics, and herbal supplements.
Slide 1: Title Slide
Extrachromosomal Inheritance
Slide 2: Introduction to Extrachromosomal Inheritance
Definition: Extrachromosomal inheritance refers to the transmission of genetic material that is not found within the nucleus.
Key Components: Involves genes located in mitochondria, chloroplasts, and plasmids.
Slide 3: Mitochondrial Inheritance
Mitochondria: Organelles responsible for energy production.
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA): Circular DNA molecule found in mitochondria.
Inheritance Pattern: Maternally inherited, meaning it is passed from mothers to all their offspring.
Diseases: Examples include Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) and mitochondrial myopathy.
Slide 4: Chloroplast Inheritance
Chloroplasts: Organelles responsible for photosynthesis in plants.
Chloroplast DNA (cpDNA): Circular DNA molecule found in chloroplasts.
Inheritance Pattern: Often maternally inherited in most plants, but can vary in some species.
Examples: Variegation in plants, where leaf color patterns are determined by chloroplast DNA.
Slide 5: Plasmid Inheritance
Plasmids: Small, circular DNA molecules found in bacteria and some eukaryotes.
Features: Can carry antibiotic resistance genes and can be transferred between cells through processes like conjugation.
Significance: Important in biotechnology for gene cloning and genetic engineering.
Slide 6: Mechanisms of Extrachromosomal Inheritance
Non-Mendelian Patterns: Do not follow Mendel’s laws of inheritance.
Cytoplasmic Segregation: During cell division, organelles like mitochondria and chloroplasts are randomly distributed to daughter cells.
Heteroplasmy: Presence of more than one type of organellar genome within a cell, leading to variation in expression.
Slide 7: Examples of Extrachromosomal Inheritance
Four O’clock Plant (Mirabilis jalapa): Shows variegated leaves due to different cpDNA in leaf cells.
Petite Mutants in Yeast: Result from mutations in mitochondrial DNA affecting respiration.
Slide 8: Importance of Extrachromosomal Inheritance
Evolution: Provides insight into the evolution of eukaryotic cells.
Medicine: Understanding mitochondrial inheritance helps in diagnosing and treating mitochondrial diseases.
Agriculture: Chloroplast inheritance can be used in plant breeding and genetic modification.
Slide 9: Recent Research and Advances
Gene Editing: Techniques like CRISPR-Cas9 are being used to edit mitochondrial and chloroplast DNA.
Therapies: Development of mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT) for preventing mitochondrial diseases.
Slide 10: Conclusion
Summary: Extrachromosomal inheritance involves the transmission of genetic material outside the nucleus and plays a crucial role in genetics, medicine, and biotechnology.
Future Directions: Continued research and technological advancements hold promise for new treatments and applications.
Slide 11: Questions and Discussion
Invite Audience: Open the floor for any questions or further discussion on the topic.
A brief information about the SCOP protein database used in bioinformatics.
The Structural Classification of Proteins (SCOP) database is a comprehensive and authoritative resource for the structural and evolutionary relationships of proteins. It provides a detailed and curated classification of protein structures, grouping them into families, superfamilies, and folds based on their structural and sequence similarities.
(May 29th, 2024) Advancements in Intravital Microscopy- Insights for Preclini...Scintica Instrumentation
Intravital microscopy (IVM) is a powerful tool utilized to study cellular behavior over time and space in vivo. Much of our understanding of cell biology has been accomplished using various in vitro and ex vivo methods; however, these studies do not necessarily reflect the natural dynamics of biological processes. Unlike traditional cell culture or fixed tissue imaging, IVM allows for the ultra-fast high-resolution imaging of cellular processes over time and space and were studied in its natural environment. Real-time visualization of biological processes in the context of an intact organism helps maintain physiological relevance and provide insights into the progression of disease, response to treatments or developmental processes.
In this webinar we give an overview of advanced applications of the IVM system in preclinical research. IVIM technology is a provider of all-in-one intravital microscopy systems and solutions optimized for in vivo imaging of live animal models at sub-micron resolution. The system’s unique features and user-friendly software enables researchers to probe fast dynamic biological processes such as immune cell tracking, cell-cell interaction as well as vascularization and tumor metastasis with exceptional detail. This webinar will also give an overview of IVM being utilized in drug development, offering a view into the intricate interaction between drugs/nanoparticles and tissues in vivo and allows for the evaluation of therapeutic intervention in a variety of tissues and organs. This interdisciplinary collaboration continues to drive the advancements of novel therapeutic strategies.
Comparative structure of adrenal gland in vertebrates
Self-organisation of Knowledge in Socio-technical Systems: A Coordination Perspective
1. Self-organisation of Knowledge
in Socio-technical Systems:
A Coordination Perspective
Stefano Mariani, Andrea Omicini
Universit`a di Bologna
ISTC CNR
Rome, Italy
November 6th, 2015
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 1 / 48
2. Outline
1 Coordination Issues in STS
2 Tacit Messages and Perturbation Actions in Real-world STS
3 BIC, Stigmergy, and Smart Environments
4 Toward Self-organising Workspaces
5 M olecules of K nowledge
6 Conclusion
7 Outlook
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 2 / 48
3. Coordination Issues in STS
Outline
1 Coordination Issues in STS
2 Tacit Messages and Perturbation Actions in Real-world STS
3 BIC, Stigmergy, and Smart Environments
4 Toward Self-organising Workspaces
5 M olecules of K nowledge
6 Conclusion
7 Outlook
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 3 / 48
4. Coordination Issues in STS
Challenges of Socio-technical Systems
Socio-technical systems (STS) arise when cognitive and social
interaction is mediated by information technology, rather than by the
natural world (alone) [Whi06]
STS are heavily interaction-centred, thus need to deal with
coordination issues at the infrastructural level [MC94]
Among the many coordination issues in STS are:
unpredictability — “humans-in-the-loop” vs. software
programmability and predictability
⇒ coordination should account natively for unpredictability
and uncertainty
scale — large-scale distribution, openness, ever-increasing
number of users, devices, data
⇒ coordination should exploit decentralised mechanisms to
scale in/out upon need
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 4 / 48
5. Coordination Issues in STS
Challenges of Knowledge-intensive Environments
Knowledge-intensive Environments (KIE) are workplaces in which
sustainability of the organisation’s long-term goals is influenced by the
evolution of the body of knowledge embodied within the organisation
itself [Bha01]
Usually, KIE are computationally supported by STS, thus they need
proper coordination too
Among the many coordination issues in KIE are:
size — massive amount of raw data, aggregated information,
reification of procedures and best-practices, and the like
⇒ coordination should minimise the overhead of
information needed for coordination-related (non-)
functional requirements
pace — high rate of information production and
consumption, huge frequency of interactions
⇒ coordination mechanisms should be as simple and
efficient as possible
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 5 / 48
6. Coordination Issues in STS
A Path to Follow
Coordination models and technologies have already drawn inspiration from
natural systems, looking for mechanisms enabling and promoting
self-organising and adaptive coordination
[VPB12, MZ09, VC09, ZCF+11, MO13]
A novel perspective
Similarly, we focus on the human factor in STS, seeking novel coordination
approaches inspired by the latest cognitive and social sciences theories of
action and interaction
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 6 / 48
7. Coordination Issues in STS
The Approach
1 We observed real-world STS/KIE, analysing their (implicit) models of
action and interaction
2 We generalised such models according to the theoretical framework of
Behavioural Implicit Communication [CPT10], devising out tacit
messages and implicit actions computationally exploited by such
STS/KIE
3 We conceived the M olecules of K nowledge model [MO13],
promoting self-organisation of knowledge in STS/KIE, inspired by the
above framework and geared toward the notion of self-organising
workspace [Omi11]
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 7 / 48
8. Tacit Messages and Perturbation Actions in Real-world STS
Outline
1 Coordination Issues in STS
2 Tacit Messages and Perturbation Actions in Real-world STS
3 BIC, Stigmergy, and Smart Environments
4 Toward Self-organising Workspaces
5 M olecules of K nowledge
6 Conclusion
7 Outlook
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 8 / 48
9. Tacit Messages and Perturbation Actions in Real-world STS
Tacit Messages I
Tacit messages are introduced in [CPT10] to describe the kind of message
a practical action (and its traces) may implicitly send to its observers:
presence — “Agent A is here”. Any agent (as well as the environment
itself) observing any practical behaviour of A becomes aware of its
existence — and, possibly, of contextual information, e.g., its
location.
intention — “Agent A plans to do action β”. If the agents’ workflow
determines that action β follows action α, peers (as well as the
environment) observing A doing α may assume A next intention to
be “do β”.
ability — “A is able to do φi∈N”. Assuming actions φi∈N have similar
pre-conditions, agents (and the environment) observing A doing φi
may infer that A is also able to do φj=i∈N.
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 9 / 48
10. Tacit Messages and Perturbation Actions in Real-world STS
Tacit Messages II
opportunity — “pi∈N is the set of pre-conditions for doing α”. Agents
observing A doing α may infer that pi∈N hold, thus, they may take
the opportunity to do α as soon as possible.
accomplishment — “A achieved S”. If S is the “state of affairs” reachable
through action α, agents observing A doing α may infer that A is
now in state S.
goal — “A has goal g”. By observing A doing action α, peers of A
may infer A goal to be g, e.g. because action α is part of a
workflow aimed at achieving g.
result — “Result R is available”. If peer agents know that action α
leads to result R, whenever agent A does α they can expect result
R to be soon available.
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 10 / 48
11. Tacit Messages and Perturbation Actions in Real-world STS
Tacit Messages in Real-world STS I
We identified a set of (virtual) practical actions, fairly common in
real-world STS despite the diversity in scope of each specific STS —
e.g. Facebook vs. Mendeley1 vs. Storify2
For each, we point to a few tacit messages they may convey:
quote/share — re-publishing or mentioning someone else’s
information can convey, e.g., tacit messages presence,
ability, accomplishment. If X shares Y ’s information
through action a, every other agent observing a becomes
aware of existence and location of both X and Y (presence).
The fact that X is sharing information I from source S lets
X’s peers infer X can manipulate S (ability). If X shared I
with Z, Z may infer that X expects Z to somehow use it
(accomplishment).
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 11 / 48
12. Tacit Messages and Perturbation Actions in Real-world STS
Tacit Messages in Real-world STS II
like/favourite — marking as relevant a piece of information can
convey tacit messages presence, opportunity. If the
socio-technical platform lets X be aware of Y marking
information I as relevant, X may infer that Y exists
(presence). If Y marks as relevant I belonging to X, X may
infer that Y is interested in her work, perhaps seeking for
collaborations (opportunity).
follow — subscribing for updates regarding a piece of
information or a user can convey tacit messages
intention, opportunity. Since X manifested interest in Y ’s
work through subscription, Y may infer X intention to use it
somehow (intention). Accordingly, Y may infer the
opportunity for collaboration (opportunity).
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 12 / 48
13. Tacit Messages and Perturbation Actions in Real-world STS
Tacit Messages in Real-world STS III
search — performing a search query to retrieve information can
convey, e.g., tacit messages presence, intention,
opportunity. If X search query is observable by peer agents,
they can infer X existence and location (presence). Also, they
can infer X goal to acquire knowledge related to its search
query (intention). Finally, along the same line, they can take
the chance to provide matching information (opportunity).
Now the question is
How to computationally exploit the envisioned mind-reading and
signification abilities from a coordination perspective?
1
https://www.mendeley.com
2
https://storify.com
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 13 / 48
14. Tacit Messages and Perturbation Actions in Real-world STS
Perturbation Actions I
Perturbation actions are computational functions changing the state of a
STS, in response to users’ interactions, but transparently to them [MO15]
A possible answer is
Perturbation actions may then exploit the implicit information conveyed by
tacit messages to leverage mind-reading and signification
for coordination purposes
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 14 / 48
15. Tacit Messages and Perturbation Actions in Real-world STS
Perturbation Actions II
Accordingly, perturbation actions may:
spread discovery messages informing agents about the presence and
location of another (tacit message presence)
establish privileged communication channels between frequently
interacting agents (opportunity)
undertake coordination actions enabling/hindering some
desirable/dangerous interaction protocol (intention, ability, goal)
autonomously notify users about availability of novel, potentially
interesting information (accomplishment, result)
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 15 / 48
16. Tacit Messages and Perturbation Actions in Real-world STS
Perturbation Actions in Real-world STS I
The virtual practical actions already identified are likely to (transparently)
cause perturbation actions under-the-hood:
quote/share — provided by Facebook, Twitter (retweet), G+, LinkedIN,
Mendeley (post), Academia.edu (publish), ResearchGate
(publish), Storify, etc. It is likely to help the STS platform,
underlying the social network application, in:
suggesting novel connections
ranking feeds in the newsfeed timeline
like/favourite — provided by Facebook, Twitter, G+ (+1), LinkedIN
(suggest), Mendeley, Academia.edu (bookmark),
ResearchGate (follow/download), Storify, etc. It is likely to
influence the STS as above.
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 16 / 48
17. Tacit Messages and Perturbation Actions in Real-world STS
Perturbation Actions in Real-world STS II
follow — provided by Facebook (add friend), Twitter, G+ (add),
LinkedIN (connect), Mendeley, Academia.edu, ResearchGate,
etc. It is likely to help the STS platform by:
suggesting further connections
activating/ranking feeds in the newsfeed timeline
search — provided by almost every social network, it is the
epistemic action by its very definition, thus may be exploited
by the STS platform in a number of ways:
re-organising the knowledge graph internally used by the
STS
tune the algorithm providing suggestions
improve personalised advertising policies
and many more. . .
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 17 / 48
18. Tacit Messages and Perturbation Actions in Real-world STS
A Systematic Analysis
. . . can we frame the above observations
within a
coherent computational framework
?
Of course we can.
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 18 / 48
19. BIC, Stigmergy, and Smart Environments
Outline
1 Coordination Issues in STS
2 Tacit Messages and Perturbation Actions in Real-world STS
3 BIC, Stigmergy, and Smart Environments
4 Toward Self-organising Workspaces
5 M olecules of K nowledge
6 Conclusion
7 Outlook
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 19 / 48
20. BIC, Stigmergy, and Smart Environments
BIC in a Nutshell
Implicit interaction
Behavioural implicit communication (BIC) is a form of implicit interaction
where no specialised signal conveys the message, since the message is the
practical behaviour itself — and possibly, its post hoc traces [CPT10]
BIC presupposes advanced observation capabilities: agents should be able to
observe others’ actions (and traces), as well as to mind-read the intentions
behind them, so as to leverage signification
BIC applies to human beings, to both cognitive and non-cognitive agents,
and to computational environments as well [WOO07]
Through BIC, such environments can become smart environments, namely
pro-active, intelligent workplaces able to autonomously adapt their
configuration and behaviour according to users’ interactions [CPT10]
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 20 / 48
21. BIC, Stigmergy, and Smart Environments
Cognitive Stigmergy in a Nutshell
Trace-based Communication
The notion of stigmergy has been introduced in the biological study of
social insects [Gra59], to characterise how termites (unintentionally)
coordinate themselves during nest construction, with no need of
exchanging direct messages, but relying solely on local interactions instead
Stigmergy is a special form of BIC, where the addressee does not directly
perceive the behaviour, but just other post-hoc traces — in the form of
environment modifications
Such modifications are amenable of a symbolic interpretation, thus
exploitable by agents featuring cognitive abilities — either humans or
software
When traces become signs, stigmergy becomes cognitive stigmergy, which
involves agents able to correctly understand traces as signs intentionally left
in the environment [Omi12]
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 21 / 48
22. BIC, Stigmergy, and Smart Environments
Computational Smart Environments in a Nutshell
In [TCR+05], an abstract model for computational smart
environments is proposed, which defines two types of environment
c-env — common environment, where agents can observe only the
state of the environment (including actions’ traces), not the
actions of their peers
s-env — shared environment, enabling different forms of
observability of actions, and awareness of this observability
Then, three requirements enabling them are devised
1 observability of agents’ actions and traces should be enabled by default
2 the environment should be able to understand actions and their traces,
possibly inferring intentions and goals motivating them
3 agents should be able to understand the effects of their activity on the
environment as well as on the other agents, so as to opportunistically
obtain a reaction
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 22 / 48
23. Toward Self-organising Workspaces
Outline
1 Coordination Issues in STS
2 Tacit Messages and Perturbation Actions in Real-world STS
3 BIC, Stigmergy, and Smart Environments
4 Toward Self-organising Workspaces
5 M olecules of K nowledge
6 Conclusion
7 Outlook
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 23 / 48
24. Toward Self-organising Workspaces
Putting All Together
Quoting from [Omi11], a STS for working in knowledge-intensive
environments requires
“that all the relevant information sources are made available to
the user in a complete yet usable format, [. . . ] that the working
environment autonomously evolves and adapts to the individual
uses and work habits”
Furthermore,
“the main point here is the explicit representation, memorisation
and exploitation of user actions in the workspace”
Our master equations
BIC + (cognitive) stigmergy = Smart Environments
Smart Environments + Self-organisation = Self-organising Workspaces
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 24 / 48
25. M olecules of K nowledge
Outline
1 Coordination Issues in STS
2 Tacit Messages and Perturbation Actions in Real-world STS
3 BIC, Stigmergy, and Smart Environments
4 Toward Self-organising Workspaces
5 M olecules of K nowledge
6 Conclusion
7 Outlook
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 25 / 48
26. M olecules of K nowledge Model
Outline
1 Coordination Issues in STS
2 Tacit Messages and Perturbation Actions in Real-world STS
3 BIC, Stigmergy, and Smart Environments
4 Toward Self-organising Workspaces
5 M olecules of K nowledge
Model
Architecture
Early Results
6 Conclusion
7 Outlook
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 26 / 48
27. M olecules of K nowledge Model
MoK in a Nutshell I
MoK
M olecules of K nowledge (MoK ) is a coordination model promoting
self-organisation of knowledge [MO13]
Inspired to biochemical tuple spaces [VC09], stigmergic coordination
[Par06], and BIC [CPT10]
Main goals
1 self-aggregation of information into more complex heaps, possibly
reifying useful knowledge previously hidden
2 autonomous diffusion of information toward the interested agents, that
is, those needing it to achieve their goals
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 27 / 48
28. M olecules of K nowledge Model
MoK in a Nutshell II
A MoK -coordinated system is
a network of MoK compartments (tuple-space like information
repositories). . .
. . . in which MoK seeds (sources of information) autonomously inject
MoK atoms (information pieces)
atoms undergo autonomous and decentralised reactions
aggregate into molecules (composite information chunks)
diffuse to neighbourhoods
get reinforced and perturbed by users
decay as time flows
reactions are influenced by enzymes (reification of users’ epistemic
actions) and traces (their (side) effects). . .
. . . and scheduled according to Gillespie’s chemical dynamics simulation
algorithm [Gil77]
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 28 / 48
29. M olecules of K nowledge Model
MoK Enzymes and Traces as BIC Enablers I
Model
enzyme(species, s, mol)c
enzyme(species, s, mol ) + molc
rreinf
−−−→ enzyme(species, s, mol ) + molc+s
trace(enzyme, p, mol)c
trace(enzyme, p, mol ) + molc
rpert
−−→ .exec (p, trace, mol)
enzyme
rdep
−−→ enzyme + trace(enzyme, p[species], mol)
species defines the epistemic nature of the action
s strength of reinforcement
p the perturbation the trace wants to perform
.exec starts execution of perturbation p 3
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 29 / 48
30. M olecules of K nowledge Model
MoK Enzymes and Traces as BIC Enablers II
Reinforcement influences relevance of information according to the
(epistemic) nature and frequency of their actions and interactions
Enzymes situate actions, e.g., at a precise time as well as in a precise
space
Mind-reading and signification are enabled by assuming that users
manipulating a given corpus of information are interested in that
information more than other
Perturbation influences location, content, any domain-specific trait of
information, according to users’ inferred goals, with the goal of easing
and optimising their workflows
Traces enable the environment to exploit users’ actions (possibly,
inferred) side-effects for the profit of the coordination process —
promoting the distributed collective intelligence leading to
anticipatory coordination
3
Notice, p is implicitly defined by species, as highlighted by notation p[species].
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 30 / 48
31. M olecules of K nowledge Architecture
Outline
1 Coordination Issues in STS
2 Tacit Messages and Perturbation Actions in Real-world STS
3 BIC, Stigmergy, and Smart Environments
4 Toward Self-organising Workspaces
5 M olecules of K nowledge
Model
Architecture
Early Results
6 Conclusion
7 Outlook
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 31 / 48
32. M olecules of K nowledge Architecture
MoK Ecosystem Architecture
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 32 / 48
33. M olecules of K nowledge Early Results
Outline
1 Coordination Issues in STS
2 Tacit Messages and Perturbation Actions in Real-world STS
3 BIC, Stigmergy, and Smart Environments
4 Toward Self-organising Workspaces
5 M olecules of K nowledge
Model
Architecture
Early Results
6 Conclusion
7 Outlook
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 33 / 48
34. M olecules of K nowledge Early Results
Simulated Scenario
Citizen journalism scenario:
users share a MoK -coordinated IT platform for retrieving and
publishing news stories
they have personal devices (smartphones, tablets, pcs, workstations),
running the MoK middleware, which they use to search within the IT
platform relevant information
search actions can spread up to a neighbourhood of compartments —
e.g., to limit bandwidth consumption, boost security, optimise
information location, etc.
search actions leave traces the MoK middleware exploits to attract
similar information
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 34 / 48
35. M olecules of K nowledge Early Results
Anticipatory coordination
Figure: Whereas data is initially randomly scattered across workspaces, as soon as users
interact clusters appear by emergence thanks to BIC-driven self-organisation. Whenever new
actions are performed by catalysts, the MoK infrastructure adaptively re-organises the spatial
configuration of molecules so as to better tackle the new coordination needs.
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 35 / 48
36. M olecules of K nowledge Early Results
Discussion
MoK anticipates users’ needs, not based on behaviour prediction, but
on present actions and its mind-reading and signification abilities
addressing unpredictability
MoK reactions act only locally, thus exploit local information solely
addressing scale
MoK decay destroys information as time passes — furthermore, the
overhead brought by MoK is minimal, since it exploits solely
information already in the system
addressing size
MoK reaction execution and BIC-related mechanisms are rather
efficient, mostly due to their local nature and absence of complex
reasoning
addressing pace
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 36 / 48
37. Conclusion
Outline
1 Coordination Issues in STS
2 Tacit Messages and Perturbation Actions in Real-world STS
3 BIC, Stigmergy, and Smart Environments
4 Toward Self-organising Workspaces
5 M olecules of K nowledge
6 Conclusion
7 Outlook
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 37 / 48
38. Conclusion
Summing Up
Engineering effective coordination for large-scale, knowledge-intensive
STS is a difficult task
Nature-inspired approaches proven successful in mitigating the issue,
by leveraging self-organisation and adaptiveness
We may further improve by shifting attention toward the social side of
STS, transparently exploiting the epistemic nature of users’ (inter-)
actions for coordination purposes
The tools in our hands
BIC, (cognitive) stigmergy, and biochemical coordination give us the right
models and approaches to do so
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 38 / 48
39. Outlook
Outline
1 Coordination Issues in STS
2 Tacit Messages and Perturbation Actions in Real-world STS
3 BIC, Stigmergy, and Smart Environments
4 Toward Self-organising Workspaces
5 M olecules of K nowledge
6 Conclusion
7 Outlook
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 39 / 48
40. Outlook
A Bright and Exciting Future Awaits I
The world needs efficient and smart ways of preserving, managing,
and analysing the astonishing amount of knowledge it produces and
consumes every day
Big data approaches are more or less the standard now, mostly
because they are good in finding patterns of knowledge, but:
they mostly fail in discovering anti-patterns, e.g., detecting outliers
they mostly fail in accommodating ever-changing, heterogeneous
knowledge discovery needs
they mostly neglect “humans-in-the-loop”, relying on algorithms and
measures (e.g. of similarity) which are completely user-neutral and
goal-independent
they won’t scale forever
they are not suitable for pervasive and privacy-demanding scenarios
Mariani, Omicini (Universit`a di Bologna) Self-* Knowledge Coordination in STS CNR, Rome – 6/11/2015 40 / 48
41. Outlook
A Bright and Exciting Future Awaits II
We are in the perfect spot to start a paradigm shift toward
self-organising knowledge, where:
user-centric adaptiveness of knowledge discovery processes is the
foremost goal
measures and algorithms exploited for knowledge discovery, inference,
management and analysis natively account for users’ goals
seamlessly scale up/down/out/in naturally, being operating on the
assumption that only local-information is available consistently
As witnessed by the latest H2020 calls, increasingly demanding
user-inclusive policy making, governance participation, user-centric
knowledge sharing platforms, etc.
H2020-SC6-CO-CREATION-2016-2017
H2020-EINFRA-2016-2017
H2020-FETPROACT-2016-2017
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